The sages of the court put him in the custody of the sages of the priesthood, who took him up to the Avtinas family's upper chamber, adjured him, took their leave [of him] and went their way.  They said to him, “My lord Kohen Gadol, we are emissaries of the court and you are our emissary and the emissary of the court; we adjure you by Him Who domiciled His Name in this House, that you will not change anything of all that we have told you.”  He would turn aside and weep, and they would turn aside and weep.

If he was a scholar he lectured; but if not, scholars would lecture before him. If he was accustomed to read [Scripture], he would read; but if not, they would read to him.  And from what did they read to him? From Job, from Ezra, and from Chronicles.  Zechariah ben Kevutal says: Many times I read before him from Daniel.

If he wished to doze, young men of the priesthood snapped before him with the index finger, and they said to him, “My lord Kohen Gadol, stand up and cool off once on the floor!”  And they kept him busy until the time for slaughtering [the daily offering] arrived.

Every day they removed [ashes] from the Altar at the call of the crier or thereabout, either before it or after it. On Yom Kippur [it was done] from midnight, and on the [three] festivals from the first watch. And yet before the call of the crier the Courtyard was already filled with Jews.